Sally Ndungu
Quality Leader
Nairobi
Summary
I am an experienced Quality & Compliance Leader with a strong track record of building and scaling QMS in fast-growing, regulated environments. I’ve led teams, strengthened compliance frameworks, and driven measurable improvements across products, processes, and customer experience.
My expertise spans ISO standards, GMP, audits, risk management, CAPA, and continuous improvement. I focus on designing quality systems that strengthen efficiency, reduce defects, and protect brand integrity going far beyond basic compliance.
I thrive where quality serves as both a strategic driver and a business enabler. I enjoy developing teams, simplifying workflows, and fostering a culture of excellence. I’m especially motivated by opportunities to build or enhance QMS, lead transformation, and reduce operational risks through sustainable improvement.
Across operations and tech-enabled environments, I bring a proactive, solutions-oriented approach and a commitment to elevating quality standards. Happy to connect or explore leadership roles.
Experienced with quality assurance and process improvement initiatives. Utilizes cross-functional leadership to drive compliance and operational efficiency. Track record of implementing quality management systems that enhance product and service standards.
Overview
13
13
years of professional experience
5
5
Certifications
2
2
Languages
Work History
Head of Quality
Sama
05.2024 - Current
- Leading quality transformation for a million-dollar AI training data company serving 40% of FAANG and 25% of Fortune 50 enterprises, processing 10B+ data points monthly with a 99% client acceptance rate.
- Strategic Quality Leadership
- Built enterprise-grade, generative-AI-powered quality systems enabling 99%+ accuracy at massive scale.
- - Rebuilt the quality org into specialised functions with clear accountability and growth paths, achieving zero regrettable attrition.
- - Drove 35% efficiency gains through AI automation while strengthening quality metrics.
- - Established predictive analytics that flag risks 48 hours ahead, preventing major revenue loss.
- Cross-Functional & Business Impact
- Partnered with Product to embed quality into Sama’s ML platform, strengthening competitive advantage.
- - Implemented RACI frameworks that cut cross-functional conflicts by 60% and accelerated delivery.
- - Sustained 99% acceptance rates across Fortune 50 accounts.
- - Enabled 3x annotation volume growth without proportional headcount, improving margins.
- AI & Technology Innovation
- - Deployed LLM-based automated QA, RCA, and documentation, reducing manual review time by 50%.
- - Built ethical, compliant ML validation frameworks for enterprise use.
- - Designed Auto-QA systems using rules + ML to catch errors pre-review.
- - Delivered real-time executive dashboards for organisation-wide visibility.
- Compliance & Risk Management
- - Maintained perfect ISO 9001/27001 posture with zero critical findings for 18+ months.
- - Cleared Fortune 50 client audits with zero major findings.
- - Established responsible AI–aligned quality frameworks and ethical data handling standards.
- KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:
- → 99% client acceptance across 10B+ monthly data points
- → 3x scale without added headcount
- → 50% fewer client escalations
- → 35% efficiency improvement
- → Zero regrettable attrition
- → Perfect ISO 9001/27001 compliance
Senior Quality Manager
Sama
05.2024 - 11.2025
- Promoted to Head of Quality based on demonstrated success transforming quality operations through AI innovation and strategic leadership.
- Early achievements in this role included:
- - Rebuilding quality team structure from supervisory to specialized roles
- - Implementing comprehensive RACI frameworks across cross-functional teams
- - Spearheading initial generative AI operational strategy
- - Establishing foundation for predictive quality analytics
- This role served as proving ground for capabilities that led to Head of Quality promotion, demonstrating ability to drive transformation at scale.
Product Lead
Sama
07.2022 - 02.2025
- Led product strategy and quality integration for East Africa Global Service Delivery, managing 40+ direct reports and mentoring 200+ quality professionals across multiple enterprise programs.
- Strategic Product & Quality Integration
- Drove alignment between product development and quality operations:
- - Identified $5M+ revenue optimization opportunities through data-driven product strategy and resource efficiency.
- - Built an adoption framework that increased feature utilization from 5% to 60% through training, change management, and stakeholder engagement.
- Organisational Scaling
- Built high-performing teams and leadership pipelines:
- - Built a local technical team to ensure continuity and local support
- - Mentored 200+ Quality Managers and Supervisors, achieving a 35% internal promotion rate.
- - Developed training programs in data analysis, quality review, and project management to standardize capability building.
- Data-Driven Execution
- Used analytics to guide product and operational decisions:
- - Designed event-tracking dashboards that informed feature development.
- - Created SOPs and playbooks that reduced onboarding time by 50% and strengthened quality consistency.
- - Established an A/B testing framework to support evidence-based feature rollouts.
- Compliance & Quality Standards
- - Maintained operational excellence during product innovation:
- - Led ISO 9001 and 27001 audits with the company’s lead auditor, sustaining 100% compliance.
- - Integrated quality standards directly into the product lifecycle to prevent technical debt and maintain client satisfaction.
- KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:
- → $5M+ revenue optimization identified
- → 12x product adoption growth (5% → 60%)
- → 50% faster onboarding through standardization
- → 35% internal promotions
- → 100% ISO compliance
- → 5x team scale-up with improved productivity
QA Lead
Sama
10.2021 - 03.2023
- Drove product adoption and operational efficiency improvements across multiple client projects in fast-scaling AI data annotation environment.
- Product & Process Excellence:
- - Adoption Strategy: Led product adoption initiatives calculating and demonstrating measurable efficiency gains of 30%+ to stakeholders, translating technical improvements into business value
- - User Feedback Systems: Created systematic processes collecting feature requests from 500+ end users, ensuring voice of customer integrated into product development prioritization
- - Quality Reviews: Conducted comprehensive feature release reviews bridging end users and product team, improving product-market fit and reducing post-launch issues
- - Efficiency Analysis: Analyzed project workflows identifying bottlenecks and optimization opportunities, delivering 25% project cost savings through targeted improvements
- Team Leadership:
- - Team Building: Built and mentored quality teams across 5+ concurrent projects, developing both technical QA skills and leadership capabilities in team members
- - Project Support: Provided critical quality support to project teams during high-stakes deliveries, ensuring quality standards maintained under pressure
- KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:
- → 30%+ efficiency improvements through systematic process analysis
- → 500+ user feedback loops informing product roadmap
- → 25% project cost savings through optimization initiatives
- → Successfully supported 5+ concurrent projects without quality degradation
Quality Assurance Engineering Manager
Arifu
10.2020 - 09.2021
- Built and led Quality Assurance function for mobile EdTech company serving low-income populations across Africa, implementing automation and process improvements that transformed product delivery.
- Automation & Efficiency:
- Breakthrough Automation:
- - Reduced testing turnaround from 72 hours to 30 minutes (98% improvement) by implementing Selenium/Python test automation and CI/CD pipelines—enabling 4x faster product releases
- Process Innovation:
- - Revised product delivery process from monthly to bi-weekly releases, cutting time-to-market by 50% and improving customer satisfaction by 35%
- Organizational Development:
- Team Excellence:
- Achieved zero turnover over 6+ months through individualized career development plans focusing on technical growth and leadership opportunities
- Strategic Hiring:
- Built QA department growth plan identifying skill gaps and executing hiring strategy to upskill internal team
- RISK & GOVERNANCE:
- Data Governance:
- Identified critical data breach risks and established Data Policy team, creating comprehensive policies protecting company from liability
- Risk Management:
- Developed proactive risk alert and mitigation processes reducing inter-team conflicts by 60% and improving delivery predictability
- KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:
- → 98% time reduction (72 hrs to 30 min) through automation
- → 50% faster releases (bi-weekly vs monthly)
- → Zero team attrition through development focus
- → 35% customer satisfaction improvement
- → Prevented potential data breach liability
Senior Software Quality Engineer
Arifu
01.2018 - 10.2020
- Established QA function from inception, introducing modern practices and tools that transformed product delivery for mobile learning platform.
- Foundational Building:
- Built from Zero:
- Established QA department from 0 to 10 members through strategic mix of internal promotions and external expertise hiring
- Tool Implementation:
- Introduced ClickUp project management platform across organization, improving delivery efficiency by 40%
- Process Development:
- Implemented Scrum, sprint planning, and retrospectives enabling bi-weekly feature releases (previously monthly)
- STRATEGIC CONTRIBUTIONS:
- Prioritization Framework:
- Developed RICE-based project prioritization matrix preventing resource conflicts across competing client demands
- Multi-Regional Expansion:
- Recruited testing teams across 4 countries (Ethiopia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda) ensuring platform quality in native languages
- Cross-Functional Integration:
- Established quality processes bridging Data, Engineering, Learning & Design, and Project teams
- KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:
- → Built QA function from 0 to 10 members
- → 40% efficiency improvement through ClickUp adoption
- → Bi-weekly releases enabled through Agile implementation
- → 4-country expansion with localized quality assurance
Senior System and Mobile application Test Analyst
M-KOPA Solar
05.2017 - 11.2017
- Built and published the company’s mobile sales application on google playstore from Jenkins.
- Created and updated the mobile application user journey for the sales team to guide them on the use of the application resulting in the growth of the sales team and efficiencies from the team.
- Defined, documented, and reviewed software test plans following established processes for the entire quality team.
- Created Processes used by the QA Team to track team projects.
- Designed and executed test cases and reusable data sets for integration, functional, regression, performance, configuration, and installation testing activities as defined by the project and test plan objectives.
- Hired, trained, and maintained QA teams for various projects.
- Assisted and mentored other testers with the approach and technical issues.
- Coordinated and controlled testing projects at every step of the quality cycle.
Lead Mobile Application Test Analyst
M-KOPA Solar
09.2015 - 04.2017
- Built and tested the company’s first mobile application used by the sales team in the field.
- Led the mobile application development process by working with and managing the contracted team.
- Increased company sales by 15% and sales team by 10% using the mobile sales application platform.
- Automated the company’s sales process, leading to an increased turnaround time for sales.
- Built and grew an external team while creating Quality Assurance strategies and processes for the mobile application.
- Successfully launched and deployed the sales application in 3 countries, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, each built for the market.
Quality Assurance Officer
M-KOPA Solar
05.2015 - 09.2015
- In this capacity, I interpreted and implemented quality assurance standards and procedures while ensuring 100% compliance with industry regulatory requirements.
- Drafted daily, weekly and monthly reports to track progress and monitor activities while reporting to senior management.
- Created rigorous and comprehensive quality assurance programs to provide timely and quality-based customer solutions.
- Planned, conducted, and monitored testing and inspection of materials and products to ensure finished product quality.
- Surfaced new revenue opportunities by liaising with distributors and merchants to identify and grow revenue potential growth areas.
- Acted as a single point of contact for incidents for all assigned clients.
- Managed client accounts by processing client invoices and following up on payment of services offered to ascertain customer satisfaction and gain loyalty.
- Ensured quality improvements were continuously evaluated so that tools and techniques could be upgraded, ensuring data being delivered was 100% accurate and complete.
Head of Support and Test Analyst
Systech Limited
08.2014 - 04.2015
- As Head of Support and Test Analyst, I chaired Test Case Designing which is used as criteria for testing the IT solution.
- Responded to general customer inquiries and complaints in a timely manner and resolved issues to satisfaction of customer based on the company policy.
- Outlined test plans, aligned schedules and provided topnotch supervision of the testing process.
- Oversaw Validation and Verification of the business and software requirements sent to the client
- Conducted in-depth Analysis of Business Requirement Documents.
- Authorized Test Execution of the test cases against the system’s functionality.
- Bug Reporting using IBM Rationale.
- Drove Test Reporting of the outcome of the testing process per IT solution and its percentage based on quality achievement.
Intern
Systech Limited
05.2013 - 07.2013
- During my internship, I engaged my ICT competence to ensure a 100% efficiency in the flow of operations.
- Prepared recommendations for implementation of new systems, procedures, and organizational changes.
- Facilitated troubleshooting, management, repair and configuration of hardware.
- Maintained 100% accurate inventory of hardware and software.
- Upgraded and repaired Operating Systems and Anti-virus programs.
Education
Bachelor's Degree - Bachelor in Business Information Technology
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
Kenya01.2014
Senior Product Management Certification - Product Management
Product School
12.2022
Automation - Selenium
Self
01.2020
Skills
AI Innovation
Certification
Certified Software Quality Assurance
Timeline
Head of Quality
Sama
05.2024 - Current
Senior Quality Manager
Sama
05.2024 - 11.2025
Product Lead
Sama
07.2022 - 02.2025
QA Lead
Sama
10.2021 - 03.2023
Quality Assurance Engineering Manager
Arifu
10.2020 - 09.2021
Senior Software Quality Engineer
Arifu
01.2018 - 10.2020
Senior System and Mobile application Test Analyst
M-KOPA Solar
05.2017 - 11.2017
Lead Mobile Application Test Analyst
M-KOPA Solar
09.2015 - 04.2017
Quality Assurance Officer
M-KOPA Solar
05.2015 - 09.2015
Head of Support and Test Analyst
Systech Limited
08.2014 - 04.2015
Intern
Systech Limited
05.2013 - 07.2013
Senior Product Management Certification - Product Management
Product School
Automation - Selenium
Self
Bachelor's Degree - Bachelor in Business Information Technology
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology